Record feeding device



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Sept. 4, 1951 Original Filed Nov. 28. 1942 Sept. 4, 1951 F. M. CARROLL ETAL RECORD FEEDING DEVICE Uriginal Filed Nov. 28. 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 um h m- Al Il im n f lllllllll/ Se-Pt- 4, 1951 F. M. cARoLL ErAL RECORD FEEDING DEVICE 5 Sheng-sheet s original Filed Nov. 28. 1942 Sept- 4, 1951 F. M. CARROLL ETAL 2,566,927

RECORD FEEDING DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 28. 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Plas.

r ,g3 i@ Ill-Inf /75 www ATTRNEY f Sept 4, 1951 F. M. CARROLL ETAL REcoRn FEEDING DEvIcE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Nov. 28. 1942 :invento Gitomeg Patented Sept. 4, 1951 RECORD FEEDING DEVICE Fred M. Carroll, Binghamton, and Arthur F.

Smith, Endicott, N. Y., assignors to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application November 28, 1942, Serial No.

467,244. Divided and this application December 29, 1945, Serial No. 638,343

z Claims. 1

This application is a division of our copending application Serial No. 467,244, filed November 28, 1942 which matured into Patent No. 2,493,858, January 10, 1950.

The invention relates to record feeding devices and more specifically to improvements in card feeding Ameans in record controlled tabulating machines.

An object of the invention is to provide a card sensing device wherein the record is advanced at different rates of speed. The card motion is comparatively slow and uniform while data representing indicia thereon are being sensed and thenjaften sensing is completed, the card mot-ion is made more rapid.

As part of the improved sensing device there is provided an accelerated feed mechanism to `speed up the advance of the card between sensing stations which are spaced apart far enough to provide room for interspersed feeding rollers. The machine is operated on a 20 point cycle but the room required for the interspersed r-ollers causes the analyzing stations to be spaced apart further than a distance commensurate with 20 point operation. Therefore, the difference in distance is made up by accelerating the movement of the card between stations.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention and the best mode, which has been contemplated-of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation view showing the clutch devices and drive gearing cooperating with the card feeding rollers.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation showing the card feeding and sensing devices.

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the card feeding rollers and drive gearing.

Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the clutching devices cooperating with card feeding mechanism,

Fig. 5 is a de.ail view in side elevation showing the planetary gearing provided for accelerating certain sets of card feeding rollers.

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view showing the feed accelerating gearing.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the record card feeding and sensing devices with a plurality of cards en route.

Thel driving mechanism In Fig. 1 it is seen that a motor M is aftached to the rear side of a vertical frame web 8l. The

motor shaft extends and carries a pulley around which is wrapped a belt 03 passing upwardly around a large driving :pulley 94 connected to a spur gear 95 (Fig. 2) pivoted on a center 9B extending from one of the card feed unit frames 91. The driving motion is communicated through gear 95 to a large gear 99 (Fig. 3) attached to a main drive shaft |00 passing through the card feed unit. l

At this point it is well to mention that the driving mechanism is not all opera'jed with a uniform motion. Although the driving action of shaft |00 is communicated directly to the printing, accumulating, total taking, and other devices of the machine for operation in a uniform manner, o.her gearing devices associated with the card feed are driven through a gear H5 (Figs. 1, 5 and 6) which is attached to shaft |00 and cooperating with a planetary gear train for accelerating the drive connections associated with the card feed for reasons explained more fully hereinafter. Shaft |00 rolates at the rate of only one revolution for two cycles of operation, but the shafts geared thereto are drive with a 1 to 1 ratio.

The path followed by the cards in passing through the sensing devices vmay be observed in Fig. 2. There it is seen that the cards are assembled in a magazine MAG at the left with the heading cards interspersed between related item cards I. The cards are picked off one'byone from the bottom of the stack in the magazine and sent across the machine toward the right (i. e. toward the back of the machine when observed from the front) and through a 'series of four sensing stations lettered A, B, C and D. Each card passes a pair of sensing stations in a single cycle of operation. The brushes at the sensing sta ion A comprise an upper zoning control while the next set of brushes B are devoted to control for printing. The next set of sensing brushes C form another or secondary zoning control, and the sensing devices a't D comprise a second printing control sta'ion. After leaving the last sensing station D, the cards c-on-v tinue to move toward the right and are picked up successively by a stacker drum S which deposits them in one of two places. The first siacking station OFF is identified as an offset stacking station for receiving only the heading` acuden? here being merely for the purpose of describing the path of motion taken by a card when passing through the sensing stations.

The cards are ordinarily picked out of the magazine in evenly timed succession and at intervals adapted to place one card in cooperation with brushes at stations A-B while the advanced card is in a similar staie of cooperation with the brushes at stations C-D. An exception is involved in the handling of heading cards in that successive feeding is interrupted to take two print control readings from a single card.

The cards each contain eighty vertical rows of index positions, each row having twelve index points, ten of which are allotted to digit representations in the form of perforations and two other upper positions 12 and 1l for zone control or special X and R control perforations. This is the usual Hollerith arrangement of index points on a perforated record. As is usual in machines of this kind, the vertical distance between index points is taken as a measure of machine cycle operation. Many machines have a sixteen point cycle, that is, they feed a card uniformly through the twelve vertical index positions under a sensing device and then have four additional and similar time intervals devoted to control operations.

In the present machine, a cycle of twenty points was found necessary to allow sufficient time for operations other than sensing operations. In one operating cycle of the present machine more than half of the operating time is consumed by the passageof the twelve vertically arranged index points on a record card under the sensing devices, and then eight other intervals of time similar to that consumed by the passage of a card from one index point to another are provided for control operations. 'I'he feeding motion is accelerated during the last third of each cycle.

In explaining the need for a card feed drive that is not uniform in motion, reference may be made to Fig. 2, wherein by comparison with the twelve points of width of the card it is seen that the card sensing stations A and C cannot be spaced close enough to be within twenty index point positions with respect to one another. In other words, a uniform motion of the cards across the machine under the sensing devices would not conform with the twenty point cycle found desirable for operation of the remainder of the machine. An amount of time greater than twenty intervals would be required to feed a card from station A to station C. Therefore, the card feeding devices are provided with planetary gearing for speeding up the motion of the card and all other cooperating devices during card feeding time other than the perforation sensing time.

The use of planetary gearing is not a provision for getting a net gain of time for each cycle, but rather for a better distribution of the time available; i. e., for getting a comparatively slow ca rd movement while a precise analysis of the index points of the card is taking place, and then, in the last, less critical operation of the cycle, speeding up the card movement.

Notations regarding points of change of speed are noted on Fig. 7 and there given with reference to the leading edge of the card under the brush at station B. The extent of feed with deceleration or slow travel, and the extent of acceleration or fast travel, are both shown. While the 11 and 12 index points of the card are passing under the brush at A, the movement is compara- 4 tively slow. Directly thereafter the 9 to 0 index points are sensed by the brush at B and that is also done slowly. However, after the 0 point is sensed at B, then the object is to move the card quickly to the right to bring the 1l index point over under the brush at station C. The extent of that last, fast and accelerated part of each cycle of card motion is shown on Fig. 7.

A card is moved with a uniform but accelerated motion under a pair of sets of sensing brushes, while the perforations are controlling printing. Then, immediately after this phase of the operation is ended, the same decelerating set of planetary gears cooperates with the driving mechanism to accelerate the card movement and pass through the space leading to the next pair of sets of brushes which is greater than the space equivalent to eight cycle index point intervals remaining in the operating cycle. The accelerating devices for the card feed mechanism will now be described.

Card feed driving mechanism As already pointed out, the gear H5 is fastened to the main driving shaft |00 which is constantly operated in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) onehalf revolution for each cycle as long as the motor M is energized. ',Ihis gear I I5 is the driving source of the card feeding, card stacking and cam contact operating devices.

In Figs. 5 and 6, it is seen that this gear ||5 meshes with the smaller gear |10 of a pair of joined gears |10, |1| loosely pivoted on a stud |12 projecting from the side of an accelerating lever |13 loosely pivoted on shaft |00. Also carried by lever |13 is a pair of planetary pinions |14, |15 which are connected by being pinned on the same stub shaft |16 running through a ball bearing |11 centered in the end of an arm extending from lever |13. The planetary pinion |14 meshes with the gear |1| driven by gear ||5 through pinion |10. The driving motion of gear Il! is carried directly through the chain of gearing |10, |1|, |14 and |15 to another gear |18 attached to a notched clutch disk 19 loosely mounted on shaft |00. The direction of operation is not maintained because, as drive gear I5 (Fig. 5) is operated in a clockwise direction, clutch disk |19 (Fig. 4) is turned in a counterclockwise direction.

Adjacent clutch disk |19 (Fig. 6) and separated therefrom by a collar is a large gear |8| carrying a pair of clutch dogs |82, |83 (Fig. 4). 'I'hese clutch dogs are pivoted at |84 and |85, respectively, and are joined by a link |86. Each is formed with'a hook-shaped projection adapted to engage either of the notches |81, |88 formed in disk |19. They are normally prevented from doing so by an armature lever |90 which abuts against an extending arm projecting from either clutch dog. The armature lever |90 is pivoted at |9| on the feed unit frame 90 and formed with an extension |92 cooperating with an armature |93 assembled above the card feed control magnet CFC. A spring |94 attached to armature lever |90 tends at all times to rock it in a counterclockwise direction and so operates when the magnet CFC is energized. Then, the clutch dogs are allowed to engage the disk |19 and turn gear |8| in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 4) as driven through the planetary gearing. Armature lever |90 is restored by one of two pins |96 projecting from side of gear |8| and cooperating with. an extension |91 formed on the lever and placed in the -path of the pins when the clutch connection is made.

Another pair of pins |90 projects from the side of gear III opposite to the side bearing pins |94, and they cooperate with a rebound preventing latch |99 also pivoted on center |91 and tensioned by spring 200 to snap into place as the clutch gear reaches the normal position.

The driving operation of gear |0| (Fig. 6) is communicated to a similar gear '20| connected thereto by a hub 202 loosely mounted on shaft |00. A chain of gearing reaching toward the rear of the machine is driven through operation of gear while another assemblage of gearing near the front of the machine is driven by gear On the left side of the card feed unit (Fig. 3) I the drive continues from shaft 209 to a shaft 2|5 carrying cams for operating card feed control contacts. On shaft 2|5 is fastened a gear 2 I6 cooperating with a gear 20B' fastened to the end of shaft 209 which is driven through gear '208 as already mentioned.

A horizontal train of gearing is driven to operate the picker device and the feed rollers for handling the cards as they first appear upon leaving the magazine. Cooperating with one of the main card feed gears |0| (Fig. l) is a small gear 226 loosely mounted on a stud 221 extending from the side frame 98. Also meshing with gear 220 is a gear 228 loosely mounted on a shaft 229 and carrying a clutch disk 230 (Fig. 4). Shaft 229 (Fig. 3) extends across the card feed unit, and to its left end is fastened a box cam 23| for controlling movement of a picker for pushing the cards out of the magazine in succession. Although gear 223 and clutch disk 230 (Fig. 4) are rotated continuously as long as the motor is operating; shaft 229, the connected gearing and the box cam for operating the card moving devices to issue a card out of the magazine, are operated selectively under control of a magnet H which is effective to release a pair of clutch dogs 233 and 234 pivoted at 235 and 236 upon a disk 231 (Fig. 3) attached to shaft 229. The clutch dogs 233 and 234 are shown engaged with disk 230 (Fig. 4) as they are normally when card feeding is operated successively. However. there are times when a heading card Vis to be held up before the sensing devices while a preceding card is advanced. Then the heading card is sensed twice for successive printing from the same card.

The operation of the clutch devices connected with shaft 229 may be followed further with reference to Fig. 4 by noting that the dogs 233, 234 are connected by a link 240 and both are formed with extensions cooperating with a release lever 24| pivoted at 242. Clutch release lever 24| has a horizontal arm normally abutting against the lower end of armature 243 pivoted at '244 and operated by the hopper control magnet H. A spring 245 tends to rock the armature 243 away from magnet H to hold lever 24| cocked in a countcrclockwise direction to release the clutch dogs. However, when the magnet is energized, the armature is rocked in a clockwise direction, releasing lever 24| for operation under Icontrol of a spring 249 tending to turn it in a clockwise direction andmove a vertical arm thereon in the path of the extensions on the dogs, so that they are rocked about pivots 235 and 236 and disengaged from the notched disk 230.

After a cycle of operation wherein the clutch is disengaged, a cam 241 attached to idler gear 220 goes into play to operate a long arm '239 on clutch release lever 24|, so that the lever is rocked back in a counterclockwise direction to release the clutch dogs for normal engagement with the card magazine drive.

A rebound locking arm 248 is pivoted on the armature center 244 and disposed in the path of a pair of pins 249 extending from the side of gear 22|. Spring 250 maintains the latch 240 in operating position so that, after the pin passes the front end of lever 249, it is prevented from turning backwards in a clockwise direction and the card feeding devices connected with shaft 2'29 are held in a normal position. The picker and other feeding parts in Figs. l and 2 are shown in a partly operated position.

Before going further into the explanation of the manner of issuing the cards out of the magazine and across the sensing devices, it is be lieved well to point out how the drive gearing already mentioned is accelerated for a portion of the cycle of operation. Referring to Fig. 1, it is observed that the box cam 2|0 is driven in a clockwise direction and is formed with a cam groove 252 into which there protrudes a. roller 253 on one arm of a bell crank 254 pivoted at 255. The lower end of this bell crank 254 is pivotally attached to a, link 255, the other end of whichis articulated on the planetary gear carrying arm |13 (Fig. 5). yThese connections serve to move the gearing |10, |1I, |14, |15 with respect to gears ||5 and |18, so that instead of direct 1:1 ratio of operation between the driver ||5 to the driven gear |18, there is additional movement imparted when the gear carrier |13 moves in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 5)

4with respect to the driving gear H5.

The cam groove 252 (Fig. 1) is seen to have a pair of sharply curved lobes, each of which serves to oscillate the bell crank 254 up and down for each cycle as the box cam 210 rotates in a clockwise direction. Inthe first part of the motion of the cam, the bell crank is rocked in a counterclockwise direction and the planetary gear carrier |13 is also moved in a counterclockwise direction to advance the gearing and accelerate the movement at a time when the card is being brought to the sensing station. Then the connected planetary gears are shifted around the moving driving gear ||5 and serve to speed up the operation of the gear |18 connected to the clutch disk'. Through the clutch this accelerated motion is imparted to all the chains of gearing mentioned hereinbefore. In other words,k the various gear trains deriving their motion from gears |9| and 20| (Fig. 6) are operated through a portion of the cycle in an accelerated manner, and then later have a retarded movement as the planetary gears are restored. Deceleration is uniform and the drive gears are proportioned to compensate for it.

After one-half cycle (one quarter revolution of cam 2|0, Fig. l), the other lobe of the cam cooperates with the bell crank 254 and it pushes arm |13 in a clockwise direction. The planetary gears in moving clockwise (Fig. have Ya decelerating effect on clutch gear |18 at a time when cards are being analyzed at stations B and D, but the retarding movement is uniform and compensated. e.

Gears 20| and 206 (Fig. 1) cooperate with six pairs of pinions for rotating the card Vfeeding rollers cooperating directly with the card. Gear 20| operates in a counterclockwise direction and turns a pinion 215 in a clockwise direction to move the card toward the right. Meshing with pinion 215 is a similar pinion 214 on the opposite side of the card path. This cooperating pair of pinions is mounted on shafts 264 and 265 passing through the card feed side frames. l lTwo other pairs of card feed rollers are operated by the gear 206. One pair of gears 216,

'211 are fastenedfonshafts 266 and 261, and

the lower gear 211 meshes with the driver 206. Ina similar fashion, shafts 268 and 269 carry the last set of feed rollers and pinions 218 and 219 and are driven by a gear 206.

The. gear 228 loosely mounted on shaft 229 near the magazine cooperates with two pairs of feed rollers to carry the cards along as they leave the magazine. The rst pair of shaft-s 260, 26| carry pinions 210, 21|, the latter meshing with the drive gear 228. In a similar fashion, shafts 262, 263 are rotated by pinions 212, 213 thereon cooperating with the drive gear 228. The cards are issued out of the magazine MAG (Fig. 2) by means of picker devices operated selectively under control of the clutch devices (Fig. 4) and magnet H. The magazine is built up with a wall 28| (Fig. 3) fastened between the card feed unit side frames 91 and 96. Opposite to wall 28| is a pair of vertical card guides 202 fastened to a base plate 283 which is slotted to carry a pair of picker slides 284. These slides 284 are mounted directly beneath the table upon which the cards rest in the magazines, and each carries a blade 285 which extends above the card supporting surface far enough to engage the edge of theibottom card when the picker slide is moved to the extreme left position as viewed in Fig. 2.

The bottoms of the picker slides 284 are provided with rack teeth with which there meshes a pair of sectors 286 fastened to a shaft 281 carried in the feed unit side frames. Also attached to shaft`281 and extending outside the left side frame 91 (Fig. 3) is an operating arm 283 carrying a roller 289 (Fig. 2) fitted within the cam groove 290 cut into the box cam 23|. As already explained, cam 23| is attached to the shaft 229 which rotates at all times except when magnet H is energized to disengagethc clutch cooperating with Ashaft 229. The cam groove 290 is proportioned with a double lobe because the connections are operated through a left to right (Eg. .2) from `oneset of rollers to the other and cooperating successively with the four sensing stations A, B. C and D. At the first sensing station A, an insulation bar 292 carries a set of downwardly projecting sensing brushes 293 cooperating with a contact roller 294 fastened to a shaft 295. While` the card is in cooperation with brushes 233, itrocks a card lever 296 cooperating with a pair of card leverl contacts 231 which are closed as'long as a card is at the sensing station A. The card is confined to a straight line direction of motion between the various sets of rollers by a. pair of slotted plates 238 and 293 extending along the .card path on both sides of the line of contact between the upper and lower feed rollers.

After the card passes under the first set of brushes 293, it is carried along by the rollers 262, 263 to the sensing station B, wherein a block 30| carries a set of brushes 302 cooperating with a contact roller 303 fastened to shaft The card is shifted further to they left by rollers 264, 265 to station C wherein a carrying block 306 forms a. mounting for a set of brushes 301 cooperating with a contact roller 308 on a shaft 309. At this station, another card lever 3|0 is pvoted in the path of the card and, when operated by the card, closes a second pair of card lever contacts 3| The final sensing station D is reached when the card is advanced by the feed rollers 266, 261, and there the card passes over a contact roller 3|2 mounted on a shaft 3|3. Cooperating with contact roller 3|2 is a set of brushes 3|4 fastened to an insulation block 3|5. After passing the last brush station D, the card is carried into the stacker S by means of the feed rollers 268, 259. As the card projects beyond plates 298, 299, it is engaged by one of a pair of grippers 3|1, 3|8 pivotally mounted on the stacker drum S. This drum is rotated with shaft Ult-.fin a counterclockwise direction to deposit a card in one of the two card receivers or stackers OFF and ST.

The first stacker is the one for receiving the heading cards, and it is supported on a frame comprising two rectangular bars 3|9 fastened across the feed unit side frames. Secured above l the frame 3|9 is a base plate 320 formed with half revolution for each cycle of operation of y the machine.

When the cam is operated, the operating arm Y288 is lifted rapidly and the picker slide 284 is of r ollers, it is carried across the machine from a horizontal slot 32|, which carries a carriage 322 with a cross plate 323 pressing the deposited cards against the stacker drum S. The cards normally pass this first offset stacking station OFF because the majority of the cards are item cards which are supposed to go to the second stacker ST. However, when a magnet 0 is operated, its armature 324 places an elongated deflector 325 in the path of the card as it is carried by one of the grippers 3|1, 3|8. When magnet 0 is operated, it is a sign that the card is a heading card and is supposed to be deposited in the rst stacking group. Then, the armature 324 is rocked in a clockwise direction about pivot 326, and the defiector 325 protrudes within the outer periphery of drum S and engages the forward edge of the heading card and presses it back against the group of cards in front of plate 323 as the stacker clip passes and continues to rotate in a counterclockwise direction.

The stacker ST for the item cards I is held on a frame 329 fastened at an angle between the feed unit side frames. On frame 329 is a base plate 330 and a pair of grooved side walls 33| between which the cards are assembled. Along the grooved side walls there rides a carriage 332 to which is attached a pressure plate 333 for holding the cards upright. A switch 333 is mounted on the base plate 330 near the upper end and in alignment with a rearward projection 335 on the pressure plate 333. As the stacker ST becomes filled, plate 333 and projection 335 move to the left (Fig. 2) against switch 334 to operate it and stop the machine. A second, shorter extension 336 is placed on plate 333 to throw the knob of switch 334 to the on" position when the plate is moved to the right after the stacked cards I are removed.

While there have been shownand described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modication, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a record controlled tabulating machine for analyzing data indicia on records, a pair of record sensing means spaced along the path of the records to analyze said indicia of a record successively, a magazine for holding said records. a main operating mechanism.' a picker device for issuing said records out of said magazine one by one and into said path in succession, clutching means for connecting said picker device to the main operating mechanism, a record feeding means for carrying an issued record along said path and through said sensing stations in succession. said feeding means including planetary gearing and a holder for said gearing. a clutch for said feeding means, said gearing and said clutch being interposed between the main operating mechanism and said feeding means, and a cam for oscillating said holder to produce alternating fast accelerated and slow decelerated advance motions of a record, the rst half oscillation for slow deceleration coinciding with the record analyzing part of the cycle while the record is sensed at the rst sensing means, and the second half oscillation for fast acceleration coinciding with the non-sensing part of the cycle while the record is advancing to the second sensing means, whereby said feeding means is controlled to accelerate the movement of a record between record analyses and then decelerate the movement of the record during record analysis.

2. A machine according to claim 1 in which said cam has two actuating lobes and one side of each lobe is proportioned so that deceleration is performed uniformly, whereby deceleration' may coincide with the record sensing part of each record feeding cycle.

FRED M. CARROLL. ARTHUR F. SMITH.

REFERENCES cnrran The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,537,594 Elsworth et al May 12, 1925 1,597,941 White Aug. 3l, 1926 1,933,331 Lake Oct. 31, 1933 2,153,180 Fuller et al. Apr. 4, 1939 2,181,211 Sieg Nov. 28, 1939 

